The problem – the new home for the EDFC, whilst practically positioned, is too large and too close to the radiant heat thrown off the stereo.
The solution – a Stanley knife, a black ring binder, kitchen foil and a big dollop of ingenuity.



Step 1: Measure the hole in which the EDFC now sits.
2: Re-measure the hole after discovering previous measurements were incorrect.
3: Begin a process of trimming and re-trimming some card trying to get the damn thing to fit, only to make it too small.
4: Rip the whole lot out and ask your girlfriend to do it.
5: Watch patiently as your girlfriend sensibly measures the hole and creates a template out of paper.
6: Continue watching patiently as your girlfriend (irritatingly) cuts a piece from the folder with the minimum of fuss which fits absolutely perfectly.



7: Attempt to cut foil “heat shield” to the right size so it’s not visible under the unit.
8: Give up cutting the foil when it’s far too fiddly and ask your girlfriend to do it.
9: Watch patiently as your girlfriend cuts the foil to a perfect size and attaches it to the card.



10: Add sticky pads to the back of the EDFC, get cross when the backing of the stickiest pads in the world won’t come off. Ask your girlfriend to do it.
11: Watch patiently as your girlfriend removes all the backing in seconds with the assistance of finger nails rather than bitten stumps.
12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 with sticky pads on the underside of the card.
13: Ease the whole contraption into place. Press down hard.
14: Sit back and survey your fine work. Congratulate self on a job well done.

So the car really is like a woman; if she doesn’t get enough attention she starts playing up. And like a horny wench, she decided it was time to have some more professional fingers fiddling with her again – off to see Alex Knight!

I wanted to fit the new thermostat and fuel filter, clean out the chargecooler and move both the AVC-R and the EDFC to better positions, all in 4 hours, a week last Sunday. Needless to say we didn’t get ALL of it done, but made some good progress towards discovering the root of all the jerkiness I’ve been experiencing.

The first thing we tackled was the thermostat, as we removed the old one I was pleased to see it was completely broken and clearly the cause of the apparent temperature fluctuations. Popped the new one in and the job’s a good’un! So far it’s behaving impeccably. I also discovered the 12yr old murky coolant that desperately needs replacing so a good all-round result!

We next attempted to change the fuel filter but quickly abandoned the plan when my new (blueprint) filter didn’t seem to match the one in situ. Hmm.. a mystery to be solved at a later date.

Finally came the move of the AVC-R to a new home on the dash and the EDFC into its old position. This went swimmingly and all were happy with the new arrangements, just some minor details to re-jig.

The jerkiness in low gears is still there, but is looking more and more likely to be due to a slight blockage in the fuel filter rather than anything else. A good day out!